


The Law of Retaliation

by royalflush (kadotoriku)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Character Death, Family Loss, Gen, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Infinity Gems, POV Tony Stark, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark-centric, Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:46:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26385106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kadotoriku/pseuds/royalflush
Summary: "And... maybe not die trying will be nice."Using the power of the Stones, Tony banishes Thanos' army and lives to see another day. However, he doesn't consider that magic is a callous thing that relies on semantics and balance. In exchange for coming out of the battle alive, the six most important people in his life fade away beneath his fingertips.
Relationships: Happy Hogan & Tony Stark, Harley Keener & Tony Stark, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark (mentioned), Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 8
Kudos: 22
Collections: MCU Kink Meme Collection





	The Law of Retaliation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BWolf_20](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BWolf_20/gifts).



Tony thinks back to the faithful picture that brought him here to this faithful day and the boy, the _kid_ brimming with endless potential. The bright spirit stolen away from him by an overgrown purple ball-sack of a megalomaniac.

His lungs burn from the exertion of fighting and his shoulders ache with the weight of the life of half the universe. Chances like these aren’t given away like free candy. Tony’s made it this far, he can’t let this _third_ chance slip away from his fingers. This has to be ( _must be_ ) the one in a fourteen fuck-ton million chances Dr. Strange saw.

He steels his nerves because Stark men are made of iron; they don’t stay down and allow themselves to be kicked in the stomach. They’re hard-working, ingenious, _resilient_.

“ _I am... inevitable._ ”

Thanos snaps his fingers, unaware that the power sources he’s attempting to reach into are now embedded into Tony’s hand.

For a brief moment, there is quiet.

Then, his world _explodes_.

A burning, excruciating, mind-numbing pain engulfs his arm. White light clouds his vision at the overwhelming _Power_ whispering to be used. His mouth lets out a gasp, feeling Time slow down to give him a moment, a breather, a break.

He sees scientific discoveries and advancements outlined in emerald green and cerulean blue, theorems yet to be _discovered_ in the next century. The Gems show him red-tinted worlds far different from his own, one where the Avengers never broke up, another where everyone he cares about—his _family_ is peacefully dining together in the cabin home. Tony is tempted with promises of universal domination, with charming offers of fixing the corrupt world, with fantasies-made-true of mankind becoming more selfless.

‘ _We can give you anything your heart desires,_ ’ Mind whispers.

‘ _I don’t think your body can handle us for much long, however,_ ’ Soul says.

The Stones have no loyalty except to the one wielding them, that is if the person can handle the noise—God, so much _noise_. So many visions all at once, so many images crafted from his locked box of selfish wants.

Tony’s first thought is, _I don’t want to die_.

Then, he wonders, _Do I_ have _to?_ In all honesty, he doesn’t want to. He told Steve that maybe not die trying this ridiculous time heist would be nice. He’s supposed to be _retired_ , Goddamnit, but there’s no way in hell that he’ll let this all be in vain.

Power, probably hearing his train of thought, snorts. ‘ _No._ ’

‘ _What do you want us to do?_ ’ Perhaps the most patient one of the bunch— _God, is he going mad that he’s actually **personifying** these overpowered jewelry ornaments?—_Reality asks. ‘ _You must be aware that there are consequences for everything._ ’

‘ _Get rid of Thanos and his army,_ ’ Tony commands, ‘ _I want that bastard dead. Gone for good. From existence. Poof. And you—all your omnipotent powers to... stop. To be locked from being abused by another person until you’ve been returned to your original timeline, so no one—no one can steal you and use you for evil until then._ ’ There. That... that sounds like a good contingency, a safety net in case some nutjob tries to fuck all of their hard work up.

(Jeez, he is _done_ with all this wibbly wobbly, timey wimey magic bullshit.)

Time lets out a laugh. ‘ _That_ can _be done. It’s not like the timeline is completely set in stone._ ’ In the future, Tony would look back at those words and _think_ , but it’s the present, so he tries to mentally convey his approval.

Mind sounds disappointed, ‘ _Are you sure that’s all you want?_ ’

_Please._

In unison, the Gems hum in understanding as they obey. Tony can feel the power of solar flares and pull of the galaxy’s forces, of the ocean’s darkness and sky’s void, of the knowledge of good and evil, as he raises his hand.

The world continues spinning. Time continues flowing. It’s deafeningly silent in a strange, oxymoronic way.

Tony meets Thanos’s shocked expression with one of fiery conviction.

“ _And I... am Iron Man._ ”

**_SNAP!_ **

****

Δ

Thanos’s army, his manpower, his _empire_ all crumbles to dust at the sound of metallic fingers sliding against each other. The Black Order keels over like houses of cards atop a shaking table, fading into nothingness just as half of all life did five years ago. Sakaraans, Outriders, and Leviathans all disintegrate into nothingness as if they were never there.

As if they never existed.

As if they never **_were_**.

Exhaustion comes at Tony like a tidal wave, and he would’ve fallen over if he isn’t already seated. He pants and breathes in gulps of air, bringing his right hand closer to look at the Stones. They glimmer from the glare of nonexistent rays of light, but are otherwise dull in the likeness of fake replicas. At his neural command, the nanotech loosens and retracts around his forearm to give him the space to pull the wretched gauntlet off of him.

It’s flung a few feet away and lands on the dusty ground with a _clank_. He can only stare at his bare arm. It’s red from the heat of the gamma radiation and slightly indented with six ovals on his skin where the Stones once were, yet it’s... working.

Clean. Uninjured. _Unblemished_.

Tony looks up, just as Thanos fades away, the last man standing among his men, the leader that led his troops off of a cliff. Satisfaction pools in his gut and realization trickles in through the haze of using the Gems and the adrenaline of battle.

_He did it._

He actually fucking did it.

“Tony.”

Tony whips his head around. “ _Rhodey._ ” War Machine has landed near him and the faceplate is pulled back to reveal the face of his honey bear, his favorite platypus, his _best friend_.

Breathing.

Okay.

 _Alive_.

He exhales, repeating with something akin to disbelief, “Rhodey.”

“...You’re alive. _You did it_ ,” Rhodey says in awe, disassembling the suit around him and rushing to crouch in front of Tony.

“ _We_ did it,” Tony corrects, still gasping for sweet air, and holding out his right hand. He’s helped up to his feet, grasping onto Rhodey’s strong arms as his legs continue to shake from the lingering energy in the air. Uncaring that it’s uncharacteristic of him, he wills the bits of nanotech off of his body and into their hub before he hugs Rhodey tightly.

God, he needs nothing else now other than a really long nap. He could sleep forever, maybe do a victory dance before that. Tony could invite the others... the rest of his _family_ (warmth blossoms in his chest at the word) for a sleepover. Do domestic stuff with all of them together. Light a fire. Make BBQ. Watch movies. The whole shebang. He leans into Rhodey’s reciprocated embrace, relishing in the affectionate touch.

( _ ~~Damn. He really is touch starved.~~_ )

"Mr. Stark?"

The two of them pull away from each other as Peter soundlessly lands near them. All those wistful dreams of his three kids meeting are becoming a reality, no longer a nightmare masquerading as a dream that he'll inevitably wake up from. The kid's watery eyes are full of _relief_ and no, Tony's not tearing up. He isn't.

He barely registers Rhodey's nudging as he and Peter rush towards each other.

“We won, Mr. Stark. We won! You did it, sir. You did it—” Peter’s babbles get muffled into his shoulder and dear _God_ has Tony missed this motormouth. Queens, and all of New York by extension, has never been the same since their beloved vigilante got Snapped and left behind a gaping hole in the bridge that kept them all connected. He’s already betting that his three kids meeting would cause an explosion (a _figurative_ one, of course, please and thank you) of some sort when their minds are put to collaborative work.

Placing a small kiss on Peter’s cheek, Tony steps back a bit to cup Peter’s face, noting the splatters of blood, gashes above his eyes, and his battered lips still in the process of regenerating. Despite the lines of tiredness marring his features, Peter still has a look of _adoration_ directed towards him. Not the blind hero worship he originally did during the rocky beginnings of their relationship, but genuine trust and deep-seated _love_.

Speaking of love, the light of Tony’s life comes to his view.

Pepper, with all her blazing glory, appears to have a shining halo around her bright hair. A distant fire reflects off of her face, giving her a slightly yellow-orange glow. Her eyes alight with emotion as they roam over Tony’s form for any injuries, for confirmation that he actually is miraculously alive after handling the six most overpowered rocks that have ever existed.

“Hey,” she exhales.

“Hey, Pep,” Tony says as Peter untangles himself to give the two of them their moment. His wife, his better half, his _soulmate_ dressed in the Mark XLIX suit he created for her, looks like a gorgeous badass. A warrior. A true queen among women. God, Tony loves her. Wants to give her the world and everything.

He embraces her too, grounding himself in the presence of the people he loves so dearly.

“It’s over—it’s really... over.”

The ruins and rubble of the New Avengers Facility give him reassurance that this isn’t a dream, that they’ve actually brought everyone _back_ , that Thanos is permanently gone for good. Tony tightens his hold on Pepper, unwilling to let go but their job as heroes isn’t done yet—restorations, housing, food, and other resources have to be managed. Families torn apart have to be put together.

So, he lets go of her.

“Tony, you did it,” Steve utters softly. Tony turns to look at him, the one that used to be the fixation of his father, the one that became something akin to a family member, the one that left him behind in Siberia, the one that ambushed the mechanic with the fucking insane odds of victory through time travel.

“ _We_ did it.” Whatever animosity his petty heart holds has long crumbled to dust.

The wizard—ahem, _Doctor Strange_ strides towards him with a weird aura of _purpose_ , eyes wide as if he’s seen the face of a grueling death. Or a particularly attractive naked body. Who knows what’s going through his magic mystical mind? Tony certainly doesn’t, and he opens his mouth to make a remark, something to lighten the mood when Strange cuts his thoughts off:

“You’re alive.”

Tony blinks, a bit taken aback. What’s _that_ supposed to mean? He’s not some ghost still tethered to the Earth because of an unfinished mission, is he? He voices his bewilderment to Strange. Pepper clutches onto his shirt a bit harder.

“You’re...” Strange is hesitant, eyebrows scrunched together in an expression Tony knows he mirrors when faced with a particularly stimulating and complicated problem. “In that one, singular outcome I saw among fourteen million, you died.”

That makes Tony’s blood turn to ice, a chill overcoming his body. He’s supposed to be _dead_? Surely there must be another future or two Strange didn’t see. “When I wielded the Stones, I had a thought of ‘Do I have to die?’, then they said that I didn’t have to,” he tells him.

“They _talked_ to you?” Strange is no longer staring at him, instead fixating his eyes on the nanotech gauntlet he’s carefully holding in his own arms.

“It was kinda like telepathy—they manifested into voices in my head and asked what it is I wanted to do, so I asked them to get rid of Thanos and his army. I also told them I didn’t want to die, they agreed. Then, _poof_.” Tony uses his free hand ( _his right one, the one that_ _used the power of the Gems_ ) not wrapped around Pepper to make a popping gesture for emphasis.

“Isn’t the important thing the fact that Tony’s alive?” Rhodey cuts in. “We don’t know everything about the Stones, but they _worked_. We can speculate more about it later.”

Tony sweeps his eyes over the other heroes present, fighters of all different capabilities and skill sets that banded together for the sake of life. _Holy fuck_. They don’t have any casualties from this battle, do they? They’ve already lost so many.

Strange _does_ have a point, though. When Bruce used the Stones earlier, his arm was practically _roasted_ from the energy, and the scientist was groaning from the excruciating pain. Tony didn’t experience that, though. His arm is whole, free of any permanent marks or burns. He supposes that it has to do with his command to come out of it alive, _but alive means living and not unharmed..._

There’s a sudden tug on his right arm, an attempt to get his attention. Tony glances and meets Peter’s wide and panicked eyes.

“Tony—”

“Peter?”

The kid’s entire body is rigid, tense in anticipation for danger. “Something... something’s wrong,” he says through gritted teeth, catching the attention of Pepper and the others too. “I still sense danger.” Peter squeezes his eyes shut.

“Where?” Tony demands, dread creeping up inside him. _Fuck_. He knows that Peter has a precognitive sense for threats, and that radar of his partnered with his reflexes have saved many lives as a result. Nanotech begins to form on his chest, and he prepares himself for a beast, a monster that managed to wiggle through the Stones, or a fellow hero with sinister intentions.

“Everywhere.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fill for [this](https://mcu-kink-meme.dreamwidth.org/820.html?thread=330292#cmt330292) prompt on the MCU Kink Meme. If OP sees this, hi! If you have an AO3 account, let me know and I'll gift this fic to you.
> 
> Magic is going to be very hand-wavy here. I haven't read any of Doctor Strange's comics—then again the MCU cherry-picks stuff from the comicverse all the time sooo, yes, let's just roll with it. ~~And yeah the chapter title is from a Yu-Gi-Oh card hahah~~
> 
> Angst coming ahead! >:)) If you enjoyed it so far or have something you'd ike to see, please feel free to leave a comment. Thank you!


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